Thursday, August 21, 2008

Candy Spelling Throws Open Her Mansion Doors

According to a recent report on CBS News, the deep voiced and really rich Hollywood widow Candy Spelling will indeed soon be putting her 56,000 square foot mega-manse known as The Manor on the market.

In what Your Mama imagines is an effective effort to snare some free publicity for the insanely lavish estate which will carry a price so high only big bizness barons, Russian oil oligarchs and Middle Eastern royals will be able to afford it, Miz Spelling recently allowed Miss Hattie Kauffman and a camera crew from CBS News through the wrought iron drive gates and into 123-room behemoth of a house on S. Mapleton Drive in the hoitytoityHolmby Hills section of Los Angeles.

Miz Spelling takes viewers through the palatial entrance hall with its colossal curving staircase, into the baronial breakfast room (which Candy Darling says is the happiest room in the hotel sized house), through her bee-zarre doll museum (dolls scare Your Mama), down into the two lane bowling alley and gives us a glimpse into her fabled gift wrapping room. For better or worse, we also learn there are two swimming pools, 4 bars, three kitchens, more than a dozen bedrooms and–are your ready for this?–that Miz Spelling simply can not remember if there are 23 or 26 bathrooms in the sprawling house. Your Mama would bet our long bodied bitches Linda and Beverly that the terlitgurl could come up with the exact number in less than 2 seconds, right?

By far the most interesting–and puzzling–part of the tour for Your Mama is when the Widow Spelling demonstrates how her cavernous living room turns into a private thee-ay-ter at the flick of a switch. Up go the gilded frame paintings to reveal the projection equipment, down come the black-out curtains over the giant French doors and up from the floor lifts the jumbo sized screen. All of which is about as impressive as it gets. Except, how is it that a house with 123 damn rooms doesn't have an actual theater? Your Mama is just bowled over and betwixt with flabbergast that a house with ten dozens rooms does not include a separate screening room. How can it be that in all the planning that went into this house that the living room has to do double doody as the screening room? For a hundred and some million clams? Hunny, no. A house like this deserves its very own room for watching the latest blockbusters, reality programs and Aaron Spelling produced re-runs.

Anyhoo, as most of the children will recall, Miz Spelling will be downsizing into a still sizable 16,000 square foot penthouse at the yet to be completed building The Century located on the Avenue of the Stars in Los Angeles' Century City.

90 comments:

Thanks for the post Mama and I hope everything is going well for you.......remember........CHANGE IS PAINFUL CHANGE IS GOOD. Thanks for facilitating a look at the egregious monstrosity that is "the Manor". The only possible good use of this place would be as a halfway house for out of work designers and stagers or as the new headquarters for Krishna Consciousness. A family with a dog and two hamsters would be overcome by the sheer scale of this pretentious behemoth.

Interesting. For all of the space it doesn't seem very luxurious. Like a strangely proportioned Ritz-Carlton. Upscale, but without compelling finishes or furniture, and a generally sparse feel. Which isn't what you want in a French-inspired chateau with a nearly limitless budget. Iris Cantor's house on St Cloud looks lavish and decadent -- compliments in this context -- by comparison. It's too bad, because if you're gonna run with this ball, you might as well make a touchdown.

Emmm yeah.... since France no longer actually has a monarchy, that would pretty much mean dead people. Even then, the hideous decor would probably drive corpses into a frenzied zombie stampede out of the place.

Kind of dissapointing considering the lengths to which her darling-ness went (in terms of size) building the place. Lots of beigey-beige wall to wall and matching floral drapes/apolstery/wallpaper. Feels midwestern and suburban. That screening/living room? Straight out of "Fargo."

Fleur de Lys has not sold. Nor has their Hummingbird Ranch (on for $75M) in Simi Valley. Swear to god it looks like Candy bought her furniture at Levitz (are they still in business) or Sears. Fleur de Lys at least has the museum quality furnishings to go with the house. Love ya Candy but you need some decorating help.

Though surprisingly, Candy Spelling came off as far more down-to-earth than I had expected.

Even if I had the money to purchase and maintain this monstrosity, it would not appeal to me. Except for the library, which was certainly close to large enough.

And I agree that the screening room should have been separate from the living room, but the house was built at a time when separate screening rooms in private residences were not "done" so much. It might have appeared gauche (hard to imagine, I know!).

Granted, this property isn't appealing, but Mrs. Spelling is. She seems to be a pleasant, cordial sort who could be just as happy in more modest surroundings. I wouldn't want to live next to her house, but I'll bet she'd make a good neighbor.

I'm always surprised when I see Candy Spelling on television, she always comes off like a woman who can't believe her good fortune. Down to earth, funny, smart. In such contrast to the person Tori Spelling grew up with...it's all shades of gray. I hate the house, but it'll sell for asking, some dumb Russian billionaire or sheik will drop a wad of cash in a heartbeat.

That little story about not understanding floor plans is a harmless white lie, her way of deflecting criticism -- I wouldn't take it at face value, 5:57. Mrs Spelling knew exactly what she was doing.

Perception is a funny thing, Viva. I found her anything but down to earth in this piece. A good hostess, yes, but as controlled and guarded as any other matron in the 'hood when a fawning news crew comes to visit. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

What is this, the Candy Spelling sympathy hour, or has she paid some flacks to kiss her ass on the real estate blogs now? Personally, I find Tori to be much more down to earth and likeable...a shame that Mr. Spelling chose to essentially cut his children out of his will...I've never been a communist, but if there was ever proof that one could have too much money, that house is it...imagine all the help that could've been done for the poor of the nation if Mrs. Spelling had learned how to read a blueprint and only built a 23,000-sf mansion and given half of the construction budget to charity...but then she wouldn't be able to play with the dollies...that anyone could feel sad or sorry for Mrs. Spelling is truly a sign that our priorities have gotten so far out of whack that the fall of civilization may indeed be upon us - christ, that video might've actually started to make me almost want to agree with Average Joe about rooting for the collapse of the economy, LOL!

Also, from what I understand and remember, the house IS NOT built very well, and had substantial problems with the quality of construction (particularly the roofing if memory serves me...) and resulted in years worth of multi-million-dollar lawsuits back and forth between the Spellings and their contractors...I agree, the house looks more like a generic upscale hotel than a truly luxurious home...though I will say that the living room converting to the screening room is super cool, even if I agree with mama that a house that size should have a dedicated, theater-like screening room...but who knows, maybe it does have one in addition to that living room set-up - after all, we only saw a fraction of the house in that video...

Some of you are really mean about her decor. Sure it's a bit outdated and I probably wouldn't pick some of the same things, but what it shows me is that it was a house she built with her family. I'm sure it holds a lot of memories for her. Even the uber rich don't remodel every year. I'm sure there are rooms in there that she's kept in tact to remind her of when she had a family living there with her.

I'm just....skeeved.That woman, her "home" and her dolls just make my skin crawl. I worked for her husband nearly 30 years ago and she skeeved me then. ick. Thank you, nevertheless, for this revolting acid trip down memory lane. :)

Yeah, a house she built for her family, whom she then disinherited and publicly fueds with on a regular basis...she's a real class act, how much is she paying you people for all this sympathy? She's just another example in the long line of widows and douchebag trust-fund kinds who seem to forget that someone else actually accomplished the achievements and earned the money, and they were just lucky enough to win the genetic lottery or seduce an older man...sorry, don't buy it, the act is fake, she's shown her true greed and icy coldness in the way she shuns and penny-pinches her daughter, but then manages to send a limo full of presents for the grandchild when the reality TV cameras are there, but doesn't deign to actually show up and see the child in person (guess she was home playing with her dollies...poor little thing...)

And one more thing for anyone who buys the act and the lies...she revealed the truth when she talked about the "I's bigger" painting, and "how that's her"...like when she knew full well she was building the biggest house in LA, so she could prove she was the biggest second wife in all of Hollywood...if you pay attention to the little things like that, the truth bubbles to the surface...obsesses with a painting about trying to be bigger, then puts it in the biggest house in LA - sorry, no accident. She knew what she was building from the start...;-)

And one more thing for anyone who buys the act and the lies...she revealed the truth when she talked about the "I's bigger" painting, and "how that's her"...like when she knew full well she was building the biggest house in LA, so she could prove she was the biggest second wife in all of Hollywood...if you pay attention to the little things like that, the truth bubbles to the surface...obsesses with a painting about trying to be bigger, then puts it in the biggest house in LA - sorry, no accident. She knew what she was building from the start...;-)

Atrocious. and by that I mean The house AND the excessiveness. How empty their lives must be, that they feel this is normal, and they don't know how living in a 3000 sq ft home (which would be generous by modern standards) could be equally rewarding and donating the rest of the $$ to charity. I will never, ever ever understand people like this. Disgusting.

With all due respect, BigDaddyJ, what did Candy Spelling ever do to you?

She married Aaron Spelling in 1968, well before his major success. So it's not as if she waltzed into marriage with an ancient mega-producer. She might be ambitious, she might be self-centered and she might be a lousy mother. Let's assume that for the sake of argument. That still doesn't make her any worse than most women in Hollywood -- or the rest of the country, for that matter.

Her daughter, who is 35 years old has made a second career of taking digs at her mother, lampooning her mercilessly in a television show, writing books, etc. If anyone is feuding publicly, it's Tori Spelling.

I don't know either of them, and I wouldn't take sides even if I did. If they're like me and my parents (from whom I don't expect a dime until both have died), there's probably plenty of blame to go around.

So while you're ripping Candy Spelling a new one, and accusing others of buying her lies and shilling for her, please consider that those of us who are not the central players in this drama are operating on incomplete information. It's one thing to conjecture; it's another to judge so harshly.

If that isn't the pot calling the kettle black, pch...I have an opinion and I am entitled to it, thank you very much. I don't need to be lectured by you.

When people put themselves in the public eye as both Candy and her daughter do, they open themselves up for criticism. We also have free speech in this country.

And I also love how everyone on this site assumes they know who everyone else really is, and who or what we might know about the world...

As for what did Candy ever do to me? She insulted my sensibilities as a human being with her gross, disgusting selfishness...it is people like her that give Americans and the wealthy worldwide a bad name with their let them eat cake attitudes, that what she has done to me...;-)

That is so bizarre. The thought of poor deluded Candy locked away in her subterraneanish (now windows...creepy) doll room talking to her dolls for hours gives me the chills. How does one person need 16,000 square feet by the way? Anyone that excessive has serious mental issues.

Ritz-Carleton, Beverly? Cheap furniture, sparsely furnished. Candy knew EXACTLY what she was doing. Once she turns down Average Joes offer for a dollar......She should move the kids, grandkids, and dogs in to make that beige bland McMANSION a HOME with a Family. Share the love......

hmmm...I would have expected something gaudier. Despite being HUGE, the decor isnt unlike what you would have seen in any upper middle class home built in the same time. She seems more of a normal person than I would have imagined...

what a bizarro house - like a hotel - not even upscale. It doesn't look like a home at all -it's so impersonal -nothing to show that anyone lives there!I don't think anyone is dumb enough to buy this place -it will have to become a hospital for rehab patients or a hotel / conference center!

I had been waiting to see this, I really expected it to be LAVISHLY decorated, Candy Spelling certainly seems as though she's got a lot of class.Perhaps the deco is just a bit outdated, even still, one would think that she would have TIMELESS decor.Can't wait til this goes on the market, will be interesting to watch.Thanks Mama - love you stuff!

You are so right in your first comment, pch!Iris Cantor's place is much better!The exterior is bad enough, but the interiors look like they ran out of money. Where are the boiseries that fill any decent french house? It looks like it's full of sheet rock and poor stock moldings.I'm told that some of the furniture and paintings are quite good- including a Monet- but it all looks like something that you would win on The Price Is Right!

After watching the video a few more times it is clear that I was wrong. She's not down to earth, she's polite and gracious, like a well seasoned cocktail party veteran. I suppose I view her as down to earth because my life, at times, has also been one big cocktail party, so I relate to Candy Spelling in a minor way, she reminds me of my grandparents and their friends so I'm totally biased in her favor.

cut down on the riff raff? The majority of you end up talking about that the " colour of the toliet clashes with the hanging picture!"

Like who the fuck cares. All you Americans talk nonsense. Now I see we view you as a enemy, a destroyer and down right add no value to this world. What good have you brought this world this decade? name one thing?

A theater would be great, but let's be honest, those kind of single-purpose rooms are useless. They're dark and rarely used, even when they have the finest equipment available. The transformation into a theater is stunning, and considering that the house has 4 other living rooms, I'm sure they can spare this one for occasional theater duty.

However, and this has to be said, I wasn't surprised to hear that the house had construction problems. It looks luxurious from the air, but at eye-level, it seems a bit cheap -- like they made the house so big that they forgot about making it quality.

10:29 -- I do believe, if you will observe, we have as a united force to be reckoned with, risen to global stature as a highly influential task force catipulting the near erradication of karate-chopped pillows and chenille lap blakets strewn hither and yon in marketing shots.

We stand united and vindicated as a proud and powerful body lead by OUR MAMA, challenging the international real estate decor community to rethink and amend their stale and stuffy ways. Kudos, all. I am simply busting my buttons with pride -- and misty-eyed. Mama, please be a dear and pass me a Kleenex. So_Chic and Aunt Mary, please bring me my smelling salts. They're in my cherished and magnificent Rosewood Credenza. Thank you so much. Now, a little Sherry for medicinal purposes.

I'm sure that zoning would prevent it, but I kept thinking that the place would make a really good school campus. You'd have to get rid of the furniture and pale carpeting, but you've got libraries, kitchens equipped for serving hundreds at a time, sufficient bathroom and classroom space, green space, swimming pools, bowling alleys, tennis courts...I'm sure the grounds could accommodate a playing field or two.

Iris Cantor's house was featured in Architectural Digest and Unique Homes in the late 1990s and early 2000s respectively. I have not seen it published since. It was for sale at one time for $45 million if memory serves.

for all of you who think Ms. Candy is humble and oops the house was built too big---this says it all about her she actually advised the press and wanted them to know how much she spent on her new condo. a very unhappy disliked person to say the least

I wanted to clarify something Your Mama said in her post. The house's media room in in fact a separate room from the living room. I have been in the home a few times, and the main living room is located straight back from the foyer (with the dining room and Aaron's library flanking either side), and just down the gallery hall past the home's library is the family room, and just off that is the home's media room (located in the front corner of the home to the right of the front door if looking at the house from the front). From what I have heard, it is still a pocket.

the mansion isnt that nice i dont envy her at all im married to a bigtime lawyer with plenty money in the bank but it stupid for the house to sell for that much she ingorant because she dont know how many rooms is in the mansions please that stupid and foolish im 30 years old would i buy it? hell no

I don't know what Ms. Spelling did know about reading floorplans...but if you look at the articles published about the court proceedings with Aaron and his wife in court, Aaron swore in testimony when they sued the builder about "shoddy craftsmanship" and "cheap materials" used when the builder stated that that is what Mr. and Mrs. Spelling requested, he said that it was a lie and that he did not deal with the builder on those things and that Candy was the one who made all the choices and read the blueprints. So...I seriously doubt there is truth to her stating she could not read floorplans...unless they fibbed in court...just my opinion though...

"The truth is i didn't understand drawings and when we were, you know everything like the rooms looked small to me and so i kept making them bigger and bigger and thats what happened with the amounts of space, i didn't mean for it to be so big."What absolute crap! The house is 123 rooms how can u say i didn't mean for it to be so big and then she says "... and we cut a whole wing off the house" - "oh it would be even bigger that this?" - "It would be even bigger."Clearly she knew the house was enormous!

That is such a beautiful home! Those gardens where heaven. Los Angeles is so incredible all these amazing people there. And its not a very old place I wonder what it will be in hundred years. I stayed in a home only partially this nice but it was so incredibly comfortable I slept for the first time like a real baby just absolute comfort and peace

anyways i have read all of your comments and maybe its because i have moved houses so many times because it couldnt fit our family. the house i currently live in is 500sq ft. it barely fits 3 being living comfortably, but the spelling house is gorgeous and i think it would be a blessing to live there. its a nice place for a big family to move in especially one like mine where there are 2 grandparents, their 4 daughters and 2 sons and with all their children's kids put together which is 9, plus a cousin living with them, a cat, and 2 more family members living with them this house would be perfect for them. it seems like a lot because mrs. spelling is alone but imagine being a teenage growing up in a house like that. you would be the most popular kid with like 1000 friends, you would never have to have your birthdays anywhere else because there is enough space, plus an arcade. plus most of you watch mtv cribs its the same thing expect this house is a bit bigger. if you all came to bermuda and saw the size of the houses here you all would probably faint and say wooow. that it. so like some of you said stop hating on mrs. spelling poor site dont even live there anymore plus if you are going talk about her at least talk about the fact of how a freakin 22 year old woman bought that house. she is 22 years old, and single with no family at least mrs. spelling was married, with kids and grandkids.

i personally would love to live in the house with my family and if i was a billionaire i would so buy it just imagine the fun you would have ice skating on the marble floors with your socks on.